Come out for the spookiest of island traditions: The Boca Grande Halloween Carnival

Kids, start thinking about your costume and decide if you are going to be scary, funny, cute or adorable for the annual Boca Grande Community Center Halloween Carnival.

The carnival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 1 to 3 p.m., and will begin with the costume contest starting at 1 p.m. sharp. Age groups will be 0 to 3, 4 to 5, 6 to 8, 9 to 12 and, of course, the family/group division.

Registration will take place in front of the outside stage from 12:30 to 12:50 p.m.

Following the costume contest, the carnival will include homemade carnival games, gigantic inflatables, a dunk tank, the cakewalk and carnival treats.

All food and activities held at the carnival are sponsored by the Friends of Boca Grande Community Center and are free for everyone to enjoy.

We are asking families to donate one bag or more of individually wrapped soft candy per child. Please drop the candy off by Wednesday, Oct. 24.

The cakewalk is also a big hit at the carnival. We are asking everyone to please donate a cake for this exciting activity. All cakes must be dropped off by Saturday, Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. All cakes donated will be entered into the cake-decorating contest.

Another contest we are offering at the carnival is pumpkin carving. Drop off your carved pumpkin by 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27.

We are always looking for volunteers to staff the game booths, pass out food, and help out with overall preparations for the carnival. If you would like to volunteer or donate a cake, please call David Bartels at 964-2564.

Marcy Shortuse is the editor of the Boca Beacon, and has been with the paper since 2007. She is also editor of the Boca Beacon's sister publication, Gasparilla Magazine.
She has more than 20 years of experience writing and editing local newspapers and is originally from the Chicago area.